Operating device for propellers, turbine wheels, and pump wheels having rotatable blades



June 1941- J. E. ENGLESSON 2,244,770 OPERATING warm FOR PROPELLERS,TURBINE WHEELS, AND

PUMP WHEELS HAVING ROTATABLE BLADES Filed Jan. 12, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 1f, ma /aw by I a I! I June 10, 1941. J ENGLESSQN 2,244,770

' OPERATING DEVICE FOR PROPELLERS, TURBINE WHEELS, AND

. PUMP WHEELS HAVING ATABLE BLADES Filed Jan. 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 john[Vov-[rysson or y J. E. ENGLESSON 2,244,770

OPERATING DEVICE FOR PROPELLERS; TURBINE WHEELS; AND

June 10, 1941.

PUMP WHEELS HAVING ROTATABLE BLADES 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I Q \N 1 Q \\\\\\i71/7? AAAAQAAQ Filed Jan. 12, 1938 m! i. I a. N w k 1V m I HP WWW m hm EL Lilli!!! If! flflllllll I Patented June 10, 1941 I OPE-RATING DEVICEFOR PROPELLEES, TURBINE WHEEIIS, AND PUMP WHEELS HAVING ROTATABLEBLA'DES John Elov Englesson, Kristinehamn, Sweden Application January12, 1938, Serial No.'184,512 In Sweden January 15, 1937 6 Claims. (01.121-41 The present invention relates to an operating device forpropellers, turbine wheels, and pump wheels having rotatable blades orvanes. Screws or wheels of this kind, the blades or vanes of which arerotatable while in operation, are now used in Kaplan turbines, turbinepumps, and blowers, and as propellers for ships and aircraft, and areusually placed in such manner that it is impossible to observe directlythe position of the rotatable blades or vanes. Moreover, when rotationof the blades is effected by means of a servomotor with an associatedcontrol valve,.as is often the case, it is not possible to ascertain theposition of the blades from the position of the operating lever. In suchcases, therefore, it is often very desirable in practice that a visibleindicator be provided which shows the position of the blades. In suchwheels, however, in which the servomotor is built into the hub of thewheel, or into the shaft, so that it rotates with these members, quiteconsiderable diillcultiesare encountered in providing a visibleindicator.

It is the purpose of the present invention to eliminate thesedifliculties and to provide a combined operating and indicating devicein which the member of the control valve which is actuated by thecontrol impulses, is also utilized to indicate the position of themovable member of the servomotor and thus of the rotatable blades.

With this purpose in view the invention consists principally in themember-the slide or the slide seatof the control valve which isconnected to the movable member--i. e. the piston or the cylinder-of theservomotor, being provided with stops serving to limit the movement ofthe other the servomotor and thus also the position of the Preferably,an elastic or rerotatable blades. silient coupling is interposed betweenthe member of the control valve actuated by the impulses and theoperating lever or the like which serves to give the control impulses,while the member of the regulating valve actuated by the impulses isconnected through a non-elastic motion transmitting device with anindicator or pointer device which indicates the position of therotatable blades. 7

The accompanying drawings illustrate by way of example twoconstructional forms of the invention, as applied to the propeller of aship. It will be understood, however, that the arrangement may also beapplied to the other types of wheels above mentioned.

Fig. 1 shows an axial section through the hub of a propeller, and Fig. 2shows an axial section through a portion of the propeller shaft. Fig. 3shows diagrammatically an assembly of the entire operating andindicating device, and Fig. 4 shows a side view of the indicator proper.Fig. 5 shows to a larger scale the elastic coupling. Fig. 6 shows anaxial section through a modified constructional form of the invention.Fig. '7 shows a modified detail of the stops.

In the propeller hub shown in Fig. 1, I denotes the hub body which isrigidly connected to the hollow propeller shaft 2. Fitted in bushings 3and 4 in said two members is the hollow piston rod 5 which is movable inthe axial direction. Secured to the left-hand end of said rod, as viewedin Fig. 1, is the servomotor piston 8 which is slidable in theservomotor cylinder 1., which is closed by means of the head 8 the outerportion of which is formed as a hub cone 9. l0 denotes one of thepropeller blades which is journalled by means of its flange and thecrank pin .ring II, on a ring l2 secured to the hub body I,

in such manner that the blade is rotatable on an axis perpendicular tothe axis of the hub body.

Secured to the crank pin ring II is a crank pin H which is journalled ina slide block I! that is slidable in a slot in a projection from thepiston rod 5, said slot extending at right angles to the axis of therod.

Secured in the left-hand end of the hollow piston rod 5 is a sleeve i5which forms a seat for the hollow control valve slide I6 which isslidable in the axial direction. Said slide I6 is attached to the sliderod [8 which extends through the hollow propeller shaft 2, and whichalso is hollow so that liquid under pressure may be supplied through thesame for actuating the servomotor. The portion of the slide l6 locatedwithin the sleeve i5 is provided with three circumferential groovesIlia. lib, and lie in its outer surface, and with radial ports I9 and 20which connect the grooves Ilia and lie, respectively, with the axialbore 23 in the slide it, said'bore communicating with the bore in theslide rod l8.' The groove |6b communicates through a port 24 in thesleeve I! with the intermediate space 25 between the piston rod 8 andthe slide|8 and thus with the space 28 intermediate the slide rod 18 andthe propeller shaft 2, said spaces serving as a discharge conduit forpressure liquid from the servomotor.

In the sleeve l8 and piston rod 8 there are also provided radial ports2| and 22 leading to the chambers to the right and left, respectively,of the servomotor piston 8. These grooves and ports in the slide, thesleeve, and the piston rod, are so arranged and so placed relatively toeach other that when the slide l8 is displaced some distance in onedirection or the other, liquid under pressure is supplied to the chamberon the right-hand side or on the left-hand side of the servomotor piston8, in such manner that the piston is caused to move in the samedirection as the slide l8, which is thus hydraulically connected, as itwere, with the servomotor piston.

According to the invention, the portion of the control valve l8, IS, inthis case the sleeve 18, which is connected to the movable member of theservomotor, that is to say, in the instance illustrated, the servomotorpiston 8, is provided with two stops 21 and 28 which serve to limit themotion of the slide l8 in such manner that the slide can only move avery short distance relatively to the sleeve ii. For this purpose, theslide 13 is provided, at its left-hand end in Fig. 1, with a stop flange29 which is situated between the two stops 21 and 28 and is sodimensioned that there is a certain play between the same and the saidstops, This play thus determines the range of movement of the slide itrelatively to the sleeve I8. When the slide has moved, in one directionor the other, a distance corresponding to this play, the flange 29strikes against the stop 21 or against the stop 28, after which theslide it is restrained to follow the movement of the sleeve l 5 and thusof the servomotor piston 8.

- Assuming, for instance, that the slide i8 is moved to the left in Fig.1, it opens communication through the ports l9 and 2! between the liquidsupply passage 23 and the chamber on the right-hand side of theservomotor piston 8, and at the same time the chamber on the left-handside of the piston 8 is put in communication with the discharge conduit25, 26 through the port 22, the groove I61) and the port 24. As soon asthe stop flange 29 strikes against the stop 28, the.

movement of the slide l8 to the left relatively to the sleeve 5 and thepiston 8 is stopped. Said piston 6 continues its motion to the left,however, until the slide Hi again comes in the neutral position shownrelatively to the piston, in which position the slide covers the ports2i and 22. Again, if the slide 16 is moved to the right in Fig. 1, theliquid supply passage 23 is put in communication with the chamber on theleft-hand side of the piston 6 through the ports 28 and 22, and thechamber on the right-hand side of the piston 6 is put in communicationwith the discharge conduit 25, 28 through the ports 2| and 24. In thiscase the stop 21 stops further movement of the slide 16 to the rightrelatively to the sleeve I5 and the piston 6. In both cases, after theslide 18 has performed the short stroke mentioned, it cannot move fasterthan the piston, and therefore, the slide and the piston will accompanyeach other.

Since the servomotor piston is positively connected to the propellerblades l0 through the members 5, l3, l4, and II, it will be understoodthat each position of the piston 8 corresponds to a certain position ofthe propeller blades, and since the slide l8 accompanies the piston, theposition of the slide l8 corresponds to the position of the propellerblades. This fact is utilized, according to the invention, by themovement of the slide l8 and of the slide rod l8 connected thereto beingmade visible outside the propeller shaft, preferably by the aid of thearrangement illustrated in Figs. 2 to 5, inclusive.

As shown in Fig. 2, the hollow propeller shaft 2 is connected through acoupling 38 with the engine, which is not shown, and is journalled in abearing 3|, Fig. 3, The slide rod I8 is slidable in a bushing 32provided in the hollow propeller shaft, the left-hand end of saidbushing being shaped as a pressure liquid inlet 33 which puts thestationary liquid supply pipe 330. in communication with the bore of theslide rod l8, the space 28 between the slide rod I8 and the propellershaft 2 being in communication with the stationary liquid discharge pipe331). The slide rod 18 is moved by means of an entrainer 34 which isconnected through a ball bearing with a ring 35 provided outside thepropeller shaft and rotatable relatively to the same, in such mannerthat the slide rod Hi can be moved axially by axial displacement of saidring.

The said ring 35 is pivotally attached to a forkshaped lever 36a, Fig.3, which is pivoted at 36, and which in its turn is pivoted to aresilient or elastic coupling 31. The said coupling 31 is connectedthrough a transmission wire with an operating lever 38 which is pivotedon a stationary pivot 39 in a bracket 40, Fig. 4. Also pivoted on saidpivot 39 is a pointer 4| the movement of which can be read off on astationary scale 42 over which a pointer 38a. connected to the lever 38is also movable, as will be seen from Fig. 4.

The elastic coupling 31, which is shown to a larger scale and inlongitudinal section in Fig. 5, consists of two rods 43 and 44 rigidlyconnected to one another, and which are slidable in a sleeve whichconsists of two short sleeves 45 and 46 rigidly connected to one anotherby means of a tube t1. Slidably mounted on the inner reduced portion 48of the rod 43 are two spring washers 49 and 5!) between which acompression spring 5| is inserted. Said spring normally maintains thewashers in the positions shown in Fig. 5, the washer d9 bearing againstthe thicker portion of the rod 43 as well as against the inner end ofthe sleeve 45, and the washer 50 bearing against the inner ends of therod 44 and of the sleeve 48.

The tube 41 is pivoted by means of pins to the shanks of the lever 38a,as indicated in Fig. 5.

From the rod 43 a wire llll extends to one end of a two-armed lever 52,Fig. 3, from the other end of which a second wire I02 runs over a pulley53 to one arm 54a of a two-armed lever rigidly connected to theoperating lever 38.

A third wire I03 extends from the rod 44 over a pulley 54 to the otherarm 54b of the two-armed lever connected to the operating lever 38. Inthis way the operating lever 38 is thus resiliently connected to thelever 38a. The sleeve 45 is connected through a wire 14 running overpulleys I05 and I06 to the right-hand arm I01 of a twoarmed leverrigidly connected to the pointer 4|, the other arm 1B of said leverbeing connected through a. wire I09 running over a pulley H0 to thesleeve 46. In this way the pointer 4| is connected through a non-elasticmotion transmitting device to the lever 38a and thus to the slide rod l8and the slide it.

Operation The described arrangement operates in the following manner.The operating lever 34 is shown in Fig. 3 as occupying its middle orzero position, in which also the servomotor piston occupies its middleposition, and the propeller blades iii are so adjusted that they areinoperative. Also the pointer 4| occupies its zero position. If the.

lever 35 is turned to the right in Fig. 3, for going ahead, and is flxedin the position to which it has been moved, the rods 43 and 44 which arerigidly connected, are also moved to the right in Fig. 5. The rod 43brings along the washer 49 so that the spring 5| becomes more compressedand exerts an increased pressure on the washer 50 which still bearsagainst the sleeve 45. Due to the influence of the spring pressure themembers 45, 41 and 46 begin moving to the right, thus moving the lever36a to the right in Fig, 3. As a result the ring 35 is moved to theright in Figs. 2 and 3 on the propeller shaft and brings along the sliderod 18 and the slide I6.

In this way the port 20 in the slide is put in communication with theport 22 in the piston rod, so that pressure liquid is supplied to thechamber on the left-hand side of the servomotor piston 5, liquid beingsimultaneously discharged from the chamber on the right-hand side of thepiston 6 through the ports 2| and 24. The piston 6 thus starts moving tothe right in Fig. 1, and begins to adjust the propeller blades ill forrunning ahead. When the slide l6 has moved a very short distance to theright relatively to the sleeve IS. the stop flange 29 strikes againstthe stop 21, as above explained, after which the slide, which is underthe influence of the pressure of the spring 5|, follows the motion ofthe servomotor piston. This motion of the slide continues until thewasher 50 again comes to bear against the inner end of the rod 44, whenthe elastic coupling 31 has resumed its balanced position. While theoperating lever 88 may be'rapidly moved to and fixed in a certainposition, the control impulse thus produced acts comparatively slowly onthe control mechanism due to the elastic coupling. Since the pointer 4!is connected through a non-elastic motion transmitting device,comprising the parts I04, I09, 41, 36a, 35, 34 and 18, to the slide I6,said pointer is forced to follow precisely the gradual movement of theslide 16, and therefore, the pointer will at every moment show themomentary adjustment of the rotatable propeller blades, and, when theelastic coupling 31 has resumed its balanced position, also the finalposition of the propeller blades.

The pointer 41 will, therefore, stop right opposite the pointer 38a onthe operating lever 38 as soon as the desired adjustment of thepropeller blades has been effected. The smaller the play between thestop flange 29 and the stops 21 and 28 is, the more accurately does thepointer 4| show the position of the propeller blades. It will beunderstood from the above, however, that a certain play is necessary inorder that the slide 16 shall be able to initiate the operation ofadjusting the blades. The described operating device thus enables thecommander of the ship by a simple movement of the operating member toeffect a certain desired adjustment of the propeller blades, andafterwards by the aid of the indicator device to make sure that thepropeller blades have actually been set in the desired position.

In the constructional form above described and illustrated in Figs. 1 to5, inclusive, the servomotor with the associated control valve 18, I5 isprovided in the propeller hub. This construction is probably mostsuitable in practice, in view of the fact that the large forces whichare set up when shifting the position of the propeller blades are takenup directly by the hub body and need not be transmitted through thepropeller shaft. It will be understood, however, that the invention mayalso be applied to such constructions in which the servomotor is builtinto the propeller shaft. A construction of this kind is shown in Fig.6.

According to Fig. 6 the hollow propeller shaft 2 is rigidly connected toth servomotor cylinder 55 which in its turn is connected to the drivingshaft 56. The servomotor piston 51 is attached to the heavy piston rod58 which is movable axially in the bushing 59. The movements of thepiston rod 58 in the axial direction are transmitted to the propellerblades in the same way as according to Fig. l by means of slide blocksand crank pins. The ring 5?], which corresponds to the ring 35 in Figs.2 and 3, and which is slidable on the propeller shaft 2, is in thisconstruction connected directly to the slide 62 which is slidable in theservomotor cylinder 55 and passes through a bore in the piston 51. Thefunction of the slide 52 corresponds to that of the slide 16 in Fig. l.The slide 52 carries at its end the stop flange Bl which cooperates withthe two stops 11 and 18 which are provided in a member 19 secured to thepiston 51. In order to prevent bending stresses on the slide, theservomotor piston is also guided by a guide rod 63 which is secured inthe servomotor cylinder and extends through a bore in the piston on theside of the piston rod 58 remote from the slide 62. The pressure liquidrequired for the operation is supplied to the hollow propeller shaft 2through the pipe 64 and flows through the passage 65 to an axial passage65a in the slide 52, the displacement of which effects distribution ofthe liquid through the passages 66 and 61 to the chambers on either sideof the piston 51. The pressure liquid discharges through the passage 68in the piston 51 and through the axial passage 69 in the piston rod 58to the discharge pipe 10.

The mode of functioning of this arrangement is substantially the same asthat above described in connection withthe constructional formillustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive.

Fig. 7 shows a modified constructional form of the two stops which,according to this construction, are made resilient or elastic so thatwhen an impulse force greater than normal is used, said stops can yieldsomewhat and allow the impulseoperated control slide to move a somewhatgreater distance relatively to the part of the control valve that isconnected to the movable part of the servomotor. For this purpose twowashers 1| are provided between the stops, as shown in Fig. 7, whichwashers may consist, for instance, of rubber or resilient sheet metal..In the event that particles of dirt have gained access to and cloggedthe passages in the slide, the said elastic stops allow the controlslide to move so great a distance that the particles of dirt can bebrought along by the pressure liquid and be removed. If desired, theelastic washers may be made of such thickness that there is no playbetween the same and the stop flange, so that the washers must begin toyield immediately upon displacement of the slide.

The constructional forms above described and illustrated in the drawingsare only to be regarded as examples, and it will be understood that thesame are capable of modification in various ways as regards theirdetails without departing from the principle of the invention. Forinstance, the arrangement may also be made in such manner that theservomotor cylinder is movable instead of the servomotor piston.

I Finally, it may be observed that the pointer ll is not strictlynecessary, because if the force applied to the operating lever 38 formoving the same is not great enough to compress the spring the positionof the said lever also indicates the position of the blades. It is,therefore, possible to feel by the operating lever whether the slide rodI 8 and thus the servomotor piston and the propeller blades are broughtalong in the movement. This is of particular importance when navigatingin the dark.

I claim:

1. In a hydraulic operating device for a machine element on a shaft, aservomotor, part of which is located in said shaft so as to rotate withthe same, said servomotor consisting of a cylinder and a piston, one ofsaid members being movable and connected to said machine element, acontrol valve associated with said servomotor and comprising twomembers, one of said members being connected to the movable member ofsaid servomotor so as to move in unison with the same, stops provided onsaid member of the control valve connected to said movable member of theservomotor and adapted to restrict motion of the second member of thecontrol valve in such manner that said second member is capable ofmoving only a short distance relatively to the first mentioned member ofthe control valve, an operating lever, an elastic coupling connectingsaid operating lever to said second member of said control valve andholding said second member during its movement by the first memberagainst one of said stops, an indicator,-and nonelastic motiontransmitting means connecting said indicator to said second member ofsaid control valve.

2. In a hydraulic operating device for a machine element on a shaft, aservomotor, part of .which is located in said shaft so as to rotate withthe same, said servomotor consisting of a cylinder and a piston, one ofsaid members being movable and connected to said machine element, acontrol valve associated with said servomotor and comprising twomembers, one of said members being connected to the movable member ofsaid servomotor so as to move in unison with the same, stops provided onsaid member of the control valve connected to said movable member of theservomotor and adapted to restrict motion of the second member of thecontrol valve in such manner that said second member is capable ofmoving only a short distance relatively to the first mentioned member ofthe control valve, an operating lever, an elastic coupling connectingsaid operating lever to said second member of said control valve andholding said second mem-- ber during its movement by the first memberaaginst one of said stops, a pointer, and nonelastic motion transmittingmeans connecting said pointer to said second member of said controlvalve, and a scale common to said operating lever and said pointer andover which said lever and said pointer are movable.

3. In a hydraulic operating device for a machine element on a shaft, aservomotor, part of which is located in said shaft so as to rotate withthe same, said servomotor consisting of a cylinder and a piston, one ofsaid members being movable and connected to said machine element,

I a* control valve associated with said servomotor and comprising twomembers, one of said members being connected to the movable member ofsaid servomotor so as to move in unison with the same, stops provided onsaid member of the control valve connected to said movable member of theservomotor and adapted to restrict the motion of the second member ofthe control valve in such manner that said second member is capable ofmoving only a short distance relatively to the first mentioned member ofthe control valve, means connected to the second member of said controlvalve for operating the same, and means connected to said second memberof the control valve for indicating the position thereof.

4. In a hydraulic operating device for a machine element on a shaft, aservomotor, part of which is located in said shaft so as to rotate withthe same, said servomotor consisting of a cylinder and a piston, one. ofsaid members being movable and connected to said machine element, acontrol valve associated with said servomotor and comprising twomembers, one of said mem bers being connected to the movable member ofsaid servomotor so as to move in unison with the same, stops provided onsaid member of the control valve connected to said movable member of theservomotor and adapted to restrict motion of the second member of thecontrol valve in such manner that said second member is capable of-moving only a short distance relatively to the first mentioned memberof the control valve, an operating lever connected to the second memberof said control valve, and an indicator connected to said second memberof said control valve.

5. In a hydraulic operating device for. a machine element on a shaft, aservomotor, part of which is located in said shaft so as to rotate withthe same, said servomotor consisting of a cylinder and a piston, one ofsaid members being movable and connected to said machine element, acontrol valve associated with said servomotor and comprising twomembers, one of said members being connected to the movable member ofsaid servomotor so as to move in unison with the same, stops provided onsaid member of the control valve connected to said movable member of theservomotor and adapted to restrict the motion of the second member ofthe control valve in such manner that said second member is capable ofmoving only a short distance relatively to the first mentioned member ofthe control valve, and means connected to the second member of saidcontrol valve for operating the same, said means also serving as anindicator for the position of said movable member of the servomotor andthus of said machine element.

6. In a hydraulic operating device for an adjustable propeller blade ona hollow shaft, a servomotor, part of which is located in said shaft soas to rotate wit-h the same,'said servomotor consisting of a cylinderand a piston, one of said members being movable and connected to saidadjustable blade, a control valve associated with said servomotor andcomprising two movable members, one of said members being connected tothe movable member of said servomotor so as to move in unison with thesame, stops provided on said member of the control valve connected tosaid movable member of the servomotor and adapted to restrict the motionof the second member of the control valve in such manner that saidseoond member is capable oi. movinzonly 1 short distance relatively tothe first mentioned member or the control valve. n fluid pressure supplypipe within said hollow shntt end oonnected to the second member of saidcontrol valve for operating the some, and manually controlled memeoonneoted to said supply P 98 in move the some end indieete the extent0! movement thereof and hence to indicate the position of adjustment ofsold blades. I

JOHN mov momssou'.

